"what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
So often I hear photographers asking "what are you trying to say" or "what is your motivation" ??? Hell, I just thought it looked cool and wanted to see what it would look like in a photo.
I am not sure I always comprehend that "what are you trying to say" question.
If someone comes to you and want you to do their portrait, are you trying to say anything other than I can make you look good even if your ugly? What was AA trying to say when he shot so many of his awe inspiring landscapes?
I guess if I were doing some sort of series of the plight of the homeless I would be trying to say something, or if I were a photographer in Afghanistan I would be trying to say something but can't I just take a photograph because I thought the lines, angles, lighting or person looked great and I just wanted t capture that.
Help me out, do you folks always have an inspiration when you hit the shutter? Am I so ignorant or lack the artistic senses to be trying to convey a higher message everytime I take a shot?
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
I don't always have something to say in my pictures.
If someone asks me what motivated me to make a certain picture, I might be able to put it into words.
I agree that being inspired by light, angle, mood, is enough reason to set up the camera and snap the shutter. If the final print reflects what I was thinking and feeling at the time, and maybe if it resonates with someone else, I'm happy.
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
Strad,
I agree completely.
I take photos because I think the resulting image will look nice, or neat, or cool, or whatever.
The "what are you saying" jerks are just showing that they have nothing to say themselves.
- Leigh
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
Quote:
The "what are you saying" jerks are just showing that they have nothing to say themselves.
Or maybe they are just trying to figure out why you bothered to take that picture. I oftentimes wonder that myself when looking at images and exhibitions. You are not a brainless shutter tripper. If one can't answer it maybe there was no inspiration. If you just wanted to see what random stuff looks like in a photograph you could use an unmanned probe with a random program to trip the shutter. But if you wanted to see what THAT looked like in an image then you probably had a reason conscious or not. Photography is an act of pointing "look at this". Why?
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kirk Gittings
If one can't answer it maybe there was no inspiration.
Is inspiration a pre-requisite for taking a photo?
I take a lot of photos that are strictly for documentation. I don't consider that inspiration. It's work, frequently difficult.
- Leigh
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
I someone makes a statement or delivers a lecture, do we ask them "What were you trying to photograph" ?
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ken Lee
I someone makes a statement or delivers a lecture, do we ask them "What were you trying to photograph" ?
Excellent!
- Leigh
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stradibarrius
I guess if I were doing some sort of series of the plight of the homeless I would be trying to say something, or if I were a photographer in Afghanistan I would be trying to say something but can't I just take a photograph because I thought the lines, angles, lighting or person looked great and I just wanted t capture that.
Help me out, do you folks always have an inspiration when you hit the shutter? Am I so ignorant or lack the artistic senses to be trying to convey a higher message everytime I take a shot?
No need to have a higher message. But if you actually do want to tell a story or have a message and are good at photography, you can use photography to do that. But you don't have to. I've taken plenty of great photos just because I was there and had a camera (sports or family for example). I've also taken plenty just to see how an image would be recorded, to learn a camera/lens/film and had some pleasantly surprising results from such effort where ulterior motives or communicating something weren't really factors. (I still try to get good composition and lighting and such even for testing)
I think it's worth being aware that your photos can say things even if you're not trying. Perhaps to a viewer it's majestic or inviting or intimate or moody or any number of possibilities. You can use awareness of that to guide your making the photo, even though you're not after what you think it might say. Or maybe you want to use things like dark tones, soft focus, hard light, etc.. to portray something and use your photo skills to do that.
Sometimes I'm trying to portray a mood, but not actually say anything. I'm kinda quiet and don't feel a need to say things all the time. I like nature scenes "Because it looked cool" as much as the next person, and know such photos will be well received. But I also do a little abstract stuff, and can confidently say, "it's about the composition or tones and not about the rocks or clouds" or whatever. Saying you liked the lines/shadows/composition and took a photo because of that rather than the subject is legit art, perhaps a stronger level of art than trying to say something depending on who you ask.
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
A lot of my images are about what can’t be said.
Many others are about what has never been said – but could be.
Still others can be fully explained with a few simple words.
My very best images do all the above!
Re: "what were you trying to say" with that photograph???
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stradibarrius
If someone comes to you and want you to do their portrait, are you trying to say anything other than I can make you look good even if your ugly?
Annie Liebowitz.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stradibarrius
What was AA trying to say when he shot so many of his awe inspiring landscapes?
If he has to tell you, you'll never understand, a paraphrasing of a frequent refrain with which I deeply identify. If this doesn't ring true for you, landscape isn't for you (and you are certainly not for it).
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stradibarrius
I guess if I were doing some sort of series of the plight of the homeless I would be trying to say something, or if I were a photographer in Afghanistan I would be trying to say something but can't I just take a photograph because I thought the lines, angles, lighting or person looked great and I just wanted t capture that.
Documentary vs. fine art. One pays money (AKA, if it bleeds, it leads), one (likely) does not. ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stradibarrius
Help me out, do you folks always have an inspiration when you hit the shutter?
The world is so overexposed as it is with imagery, what's the point of wasting resources, be it film or pixels, if you don't have something to say? (I'm not being rhetorical – you better figure out something if you want someone other than your mother to appreciate your pics.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stradibarrius
Am I so ignorant or lack the artistic senses to be trying to convey a higher message everytime I take a shot?
Apparently – see above. But you can always learn.
